National Olympic Committee for Mali holds fifth "Sporting Merit Night"

By Nick Butler

A fifth "Sporting Merit Night" has been held by the National Olympic Committee for Mali in Bamako to honour the country's leading contributors to the sports industry.

The evening saw Mali Fencing Federation President Wahab Zorome receive the best sports leader prize, while the fair play award went to the former chairman of the Equestrian Standardisation Committee, Adama Kone

The best athlete award, meanwhile, went to teenage basketball star Djeneba N'Diaye, a key player of the Malian squad which historically won the women's under-18 African Basketball Championships in Egypt last September, beating the hosts 73-65 in the final.

Teenage basketball star Djeneba N'Diaye was recognised after a superb year ©FIBA

In an evening in which the central theme was "fair play", Mali's First Lady, Keita Aminate Maïga, was also present, along with the President of the National Assembly, Issaka Sidibe, Sports Minister Housseini Amion Guindo and NOC President Habib Sissoko.

Among other guests was Mustapha Berraf, the head of the Algerian Olympic Committee and vice-president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa.

The National Olympic Committee for Mali was formed in 1962 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee the following year, with the nation having competed at every Summer Games since Tokyo 1964, with the exception of Montreal 1976.

At London 2012, Mali came close to its first ever medal, only for two-time world champion taekwondo star Daba Modibo Keïta to be forced to agonisingly withdraw from the bronze medal match through injury.

Since then the nation has been locked in a conflict with Islamist insurgents, with troops from France and various other African countries having intervened in 2013 in an attempt to restore order.

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